Page 5 of Air Of Mystery (Witches On The Hill #4)

Amanda lived in the picturesque village of Ames Crossing in a historic, but quirky two-story house with limestone foundations and deep gray siding.

The house jutted off in several directions—from additions over the years, I assumed.

The white shutters and trim made for a crisp contrast against the deep color of the body of the house, and the front porch was tiny but charming.

The rain had stopped by the time she whipped her car into the driveway. As we climbed out, I was pleased to find that I was steadier on my feet. Slowly, I followed her around the side of the house, and we stopped in front of a garden hose.

“Do you mind taking your shoes off?” Amanda asked. “They’re covered in—”

“Ash,” I finished for her.

“At the very least,” she said and turned on the water.

In agreement, I stopped and unbuckled my mucky sandals. I was surprised to see how dirty my feet were. She held out her hand and I passed them over. “I’ll set your sandals aside,” she said. “I have a home-made remedy that will clean all the nasty off them.”

“Thank you,” I said, aiming the stream of the water over my feet. Using the garden hose, I washed away the ash from the remains of the attacking entity. Once I finished, I twisted off the water spigot.

“A ritual bath, dry clothes, and a meal will help you regain some strength,” she said. “As to recouping all the energy you expelled today? Well, that will simply take a little time, rest, and self care.”

“Agreed,” I said, reminding myself to contact Kenna and make sure she did a cleansing for herself and Tyler as well.

In my rain-soaked dress, I followed Amanda up the stairs to a large wooden deck that was crowded with pretty pots of blooming herbs and flowers.

Before she could reach for the door handle, it swung open on its own. “Friend,” she announced clearly.

Maybe I was more wiped out than I realized, because I could have sworn the lights inside pulsed brighter. But before I could say anything else, two small children came barreling out the door and tackled Amanda.

“Mom, you’re back!” A blonde girl who looked around five gave Amanda a big hug.

“Mama!” The second girl, who was maybe two or three, latched herself to Amanda’s side. Her hair was auburn—like her mother’s.

Amanda bent over her daughters to hug them. “I was gone for a whole twenty minutes...”

A tall man stepped into the doorway. Attractive, with broad shoulders and light brown hair that was cut short, he wore a khaki deputy’s uniform that complemented his trim frame. His blue eyes assessed me. “Hello,” he said.

I nodded. “Hello.”

“Skye, this is my husband, Zakary Parker,” Amanda introduced us. “And these are our daughters. Tori and Tabitha.”

“Hi girls,” I said to the kids.

The blonde smiled at me, but the younger of the two narrowed her eyes.

“Zakary,” Amanda said to her husband, “if you could take the girls and keep them busy for a moment, I’m going to take Skye upstairs and give her a hand.”

Amanda reached out, hooked her arm through mine, and escorted me right inside. I stepped from the deck into a charming but messy kitchen. Clearly someone had been baking cookies. Flour was everywhere. It was scattered over the counters, the floor, and across the table.

“What happened in here?” Amanda asked.

“Sorry babe,” Zakary said. “The girls got a bit over-enthusiastic about helping me mix the cookie dough.”

“Sorry!” The youngest grinned at her mother, clearly unrepentant.

“We’ll clean it up,” Zakary promised.

“Yes, you certainly will,” Amanda said.

That comment earned whines from the girls.

“I’ll get the broom,” the eldest girl announced and dashed off to do so.

With a shake of her head, Amanda led me through the house and up a set of wooden stairs to the second floor.

“Bathroom’s right here,” she said, opening the door.

After reaching into a linen cupboard, Amanda set out clean towels, handed me a bar of handmade soap, and then passed me a container of sea salt.

“Hit the shower, use the salt and the soap. The soap’s a custom blend. Good for energetic cleansing.”

Automatically I sniffed it and smelled roses and sandalwood.

“I’ll bring you some clothes of mine to borrow, and we’ll get your dress washed and dried for you.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Come downstairs when you’ve finished,” she said. After giving me a supportive pat on the shoulder, Amanda exited the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The shower helped enormously. After scrubbing off, I wrapped myself in a towel, patted my skin dry, and discovered that at some point Amanda had slipped in and picked up my clothes from the floor.

On the counter beside my purse, a T-shirt and a pair of soft shorts were waiting for me that I slipped on. They were too big, but I was covered; and most importantly, they weren’t oozing with negative vibes or dark magick residue.

I checked my reflection in the mirror. My makeup was gone, revealing some dark circles of fatigue under my eyes. With a shrug, I finger fluffed my short hair, gathered up my purse and the towel I had used, and exited the bathroom.

Following the voices, I went back downstairs and saw that Amanda and her family were taking a batch of cookies from the oven. The mess I’d seen upon arrival was all cleaned up and the girls were dancing in place, wanting a cookie.

“Have a seat.” Amanda inclined her head toward a large sturdy kitchen table. “I’ll make you some tea.”

My butt had barely hit the seat when a scruffy black cat hopped up on the tabletop and strutted over to get in my face for a better look.

“Nyx!” Amanda gently scolded the cat. “You know you’re not allowed on the table.”

In response the cat looked over at its mistress and yawned.

I held my fingers out for the cat to sniff and was rewarded when she rubbed her face against my hand. “Hi Nyx,” I said.

“I’ll get her Mama,” Tori said and began to march over toward the cat.

Nyx, seeing that the girl was coming, hopped right off the table and into my lap.

“Want me to take her?” Tori asked.

“Nah,” I said, running my hand over Nyx’s ears. “She can stay. I like cats.”

Tori smiled. “Do you have a cat?”

“No,” I said. “But we do have chickens.”

“Chickens?” Tabitha toddled over.

“Yes.” I nodded. “We have a dozen chickens—for eggs.”

“Do they live in your house?” Tori wanted to know.

“No.” I smiled at her question. “They have a coop and a run in the backyard.”

Tabitha appeared very serious as she thought that over.

“Some of our chickens lay blue eggs,” I told the girls.

“Really?” Tori asked.

I nodded. “Others lay brown, and a few lay green.”

“ Green eggs?” Tabitha frowned. “That’s so silly.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

Amanda brought me a mug of tea. An offer of milk and sugar followed, and I found myself sitting at her cozy kitchen table, having tea and some cookies with her family and the cat.

Within ten minutes, I felt like I’d known them all for years.

It was a comfortable and comforting house, especially the kitchen with its deep green cabinets, herbs drying from the ceiling, and clever witchy décor.

Sure, I knew Amanda by association—with our sisters being friends—but regardless, I liked the Parker family. They were warm, loving, and fun.

“I love that sign,” I told Amanda, pointing to a rustic hand-painted plaque on the kitchen wall that read: There’s a little Witch in all of us…

Amanda smiled. “I’m very partial to it.”

Zakary checked his watch. “I have to leave. My shift starts in a half hour.” He stood and both girls ran to him for a hug and a kiss. Amanda walked him to the kitchen door, and they exchanged a kiss too.

“Nice to meet you, Skye,” he said, giving me a nod.

“You, too.”

“Be safe,” Amanda told him, kissing him again before he left.

Zakary ran his hand over his wife’s hair. “Love you.”

After Zakary left, Amanda offered to put a movie on for her girls. Their loud whoops of delight at the offer had me jumping in surprise, as the girls ran from the kitchen and into the family room. A short time later I heard the familiar music of a Disney classic and Amanda returned.

“So,” she said, taking her seat once more. “Let’s talk.”

I nodded and took a sip of my tea.

“You investigate haunted houses for a living?” she asked.

“Among other things,” I said, placing my mug back on the table.

“The YouTube channel, the show that you do...” She nodded. “It’s very popular.”

“Are you a subscriber?”

“No, but I do watch occasionally.” She picked up her own mug. “As the branch manager and head librarian here in Ames Crossing it pays to keep up to date on your episodes.”

“Really?” I did a double take at that.

“Umm hmm,” she said. “Typically, there will be a run on books that relate to whatever the topic of your recent episode was.”

“I had no idea,” I said. That information made me smile.

Nyx was apparently bored with the conversation. The cat hopped off my lap, went to the corner of the kitchen, and sat tucking her tail around her. It seemed to me that she was on sentry duty.

“Will today’s adventure make it onto your channel?” Amanda’s voice was polite, but for some reason I sensed disapproval.

“No,” I told her. “No, it won’t.”

“May I ask why that is?”

I narrowed my eyes. Again, her tone of voice was perfectly polite, but still, I felt judged. “For starters,” I said, “my sister and her boyfriend were involved. Tyler was attacked—injured—at the location and was taken to the hospital.”

“What happened?” Amanda asked.

Quietly, so the girls wouldn’t overhear, I told her. I’d managed to fill her in on most of it, but right before I could finish, the back door swung open and a stunning brunette blew in.

And I do mean blew . The wind was strong enough that it had blown the door open.

“ Hola amiga !” Estella Marquette waltzed right in—without knocking.

“Estella.” Amanda smiled.

“Wait until you hear about the crazy shit that happened in Alton today!” Estella brushed the hair from her eyes, spotted me at the table, and immediately stopped speaking.